I don't need to be saved
by DragonGuardedPrincess
Summary: Riley is not your typical damsel in distress. She has taken care of herself for most of her life. So when an abusive ex boyfriend comes back in town to find her, she just picks up her stuff to run. But with the involvement of the FBI, she starts to see that things are a bit worse than she could have imagined, and may need some help.
1. Chapter 1

**This was just an idea I had in my head one day, and wanted to try it out. I however, own nothing of Criminal Minds. Enjoy**

Riley Kenton sighed as she pulled into the parking spot of her shoddy little apartment complex. She put her little 1993 Nissan Sentra into park and leaned forward, placing her head against the steering wheel. It had been another long night at the club, with not much cash in her pocket to show for it. There never was. Not in this grungy little town on the outskirts of the Quantico District in Virginia. She leaned back against her seat and pulled out the crumpled wad of cash in her coat pocket. Sixty dollars. That had been all she made that night, and sadly, that was more than she usually came home with.

Riley worked at a gentlemen's club on the very outskirts of town. Far enough to where all the government employees that came to watch her dance would never be found out. It wasn't too bad of a club. At least it was always kept clean, and her boss, a man named Rodney, wasn't a creep like at the other dingy clubs she had worked at. Riley had a troubled past. In her teenage years she had gotten in with a rough crowd, and of course, she found love there too. However, that love went to shit fast once her ex boyfriend, Josh, had started abusing her and keeping her high all the time so she couldn't fight back. One night, after a black eye and a dislocated shoulder, she up and left. No note, didn't say a word to anyone. That was 5 years ago, and she had lived in a few towns since then, but had eventually settled.

She sighed once again and put the cash back in her pocket and turned off the engine. She gave a small wince at the noticeable creak of the driver's side door as she got out. Wrapping her jacket tighter around her body to shield her from the beginning-of-winter wind, she started towards her small, one bedroom downstairs apartment. When she got to the door, she fumbled around in her purse, pulling out her keys and putting the keys in the lock. She walked into her dark apartment, clicking her tongue, calling out to her little grey kitten. She heard the little pitter patter of paws and smiled, turning on the light. It was then she saw a white envelope on the ground. She gave her kitten George a few pets on the head before picking up the envelope. There was no writing on the outside, no stamp. She walked into the kitchen, setting down her things with the envelope in her hand. It was probably just some kind of notice from her landlord, perhaps there was an inspection soon. She poured some kitten food into George's bowl, for which he meowed happily and went at it as if he had been starving his whole life, then sat down on the couch, tearing the top from the envelope.

There was just a single piece of paper inside. She pulled it out and within seconds, her eyes widened and she dropped the note to the floor. _I found you Mon Chere._ Mon Chere, that is what Josh had called her when they had been together. Her mind was a mess of thoughts as she ran into her room, grabbing a bag of clothes, kitten food, and her emergency cash. She went into the kitchen, pulling George up into her arms where he wiggled, very unhappy to be taken away from his food. She grabbed her purse and car keys before rushing to her front door. As the front door opened there stood 3 people in front of her with business suits. The man in the middle, a stern looking man, had his hand up, as if he had just been about to knock on the door before it had opened. After a second, he had recomposed himself and straightened up. "Riley Kenton?" He asked in a deep voice while looking at her. She backed away from her front door, holding onto her kitten tightly. "What do you want..." She kept looking in between the three people blocking her from exiting her apartment. If Josh had sent them to take her, they had another thing coming. Her hand reached into her jacket pocket, tightly grasping the pocket knife she had there. She wasn't going without a fight. The man in front of her reached into the inside of his jacket, pulling out a wallet and flipping it open. "My name is SSA Aaron Hotchner. We are with the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit. We need to ask you a few questions."


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm so sorry for the late update guys, I had problems with my laptop then work got in the way, but I'm back now! 3**

Riley just stood there, open-mouthed and pretty sure she had a stupid look on her face. The FBI? Why were they here, and what did anything have to do with her? She shook her head to clear her thoughts and moved past the three agents towards her car. "I'm sorry, but I really need to go." "Do you know a Joshua Ruiz?" one of the agents asked her and she stopped in her tracks. She sighed and closed her eyes for a few seconds before turning back to the agents. "I did. Long ago. I have nothing to do with him now. So if you will please excuse me..." One of the agents stepped forward. The agent was considerably younger than the other two men with him. Tall, skinny, longish brown hair, an uncomfortable look on his face, and a messenger bag slung across his shoulder. "Well.. actually. This case has everything to do with you."

Riley put her hand up in a slow down motion and shook her head. "Case?

No, you are mistaken and I really have to leave now." The first agent, Hotchner was his name? She really couldn't remember right now, spoke up. "Have you received any letters in the past couple weeks from Mr. Ruiz?" She really didn't like where this was going, but she didn't see these agents leaving her alone any time soon. She held George tightly against her chest before walking back to her house, opening the front door to invite the three agents in. She sat on the couch, petting the small kitten snuggled in her chest and waited to hear what they had to say.

"As I said before, My name is SSA Aaron Hotchner, this..." He motioned to an older looking agent with them, dark hair and a beyond serious look, "Is SSA Agent Rossi. And this is Dr. Spencer Reid." He finished, motioning to the younger agent who had spoken to her earlier. "Well, it seems you already know who I am, so I see no point in saying who I am." Yes, it was a bit bratty to have an attitude with FBI agents, but she was very frustrated right now. She had to get out of town and fast, and all these agents were doing was slowing her down. Dr. Reid pulled a file out of his messenger bag and handed it over to Rossi. "We are working on the case of 7 homicides, stemming all the way from Los Angeles, right here to our town here." Riley blinked and tilted her head at the information. Now, she knew there was no coincidence it started in her home town, and got brought to the town she had been living in for a few years now, but she prayed for the best. "And what does this have to do with me?"

At this point Rossi pulled out seven photographs of seven girls. She couldn't remember a time where her heart had ever beat harder and faster than how it was now. All of them... All seven of them, had red hair, upper back length, and bright blue eyes. "I think you see now, what this has to do with you." Riley shook her head, she really needed a moment to breathe and take this all in, and with that, she got up from the couch, walking out the living room and outside. She leaned against the railing of her back porch and put her head in her hands. She knew her ex was crazy, but she had seriously thought he would move on after she left. Hell, he had even moved on while she was with him, with all the girls she had caught him in bed with, but this? This was insane. To make matters worse, he was in her town now.

She sighed and reached into her pocket, pulling out her pack of cigarettes and lighter, before pulling one out and sparking the tip. She took a long inhale, holding the nicotine in for a few extra seconds before slowly exhaling it out. "Seven minutes..." She heard the voice behind her and jumped, turning around and seeing the younger agent there, his hands in his pants pocket and leaning against the back door. "Excuse me...?" Dr. Reid chuckled a bit before moving his hands out of his pockets and walking to lean against the railing, his elbows resting on the wood. "I said, seven minutes. A study out there says that every time you smoke, you lose seven minutes off your life. My mother was a smoker, and every time I would see her light one, I would tell her that that was seven minutes less I got to spend with her." He looked a little sad, recalling the memory from his youth, but quickly hid it. Riley only shook her head and took another inhale off of hers. "Did it work?" Reid shook his head with a small smile on his face. "Eventually it did, or she quit for another reason, I'm not entirely sure." He then pulled himself off the railing, now turning around to lean his back against it and his arms folded in front of him as he looked at her. "Have you seen or had any contact with your ex boyfriend in the past few weeks?" "No, it's been about a year since I had last heard from him. He found out where I had lived and I high tailed it out of there like the Devil himself was on my heels. I didn't even know he was in town until I found the letter tonight shoved under my door. "I found you, Mon Chere." It was a stupid nickname he had given me while we were dating, some Adam's Family shit, but at the time..." She sighed and took another long hit off her cigarette. "If I had known the man he would become, I would have never..." Reid stood quiet for a few seconds. "Ted Bundy was a notorious serial killer. Killed many innocent women. You would think that after it hit the news, women would be more careful, but he had a certain... charm about him. He could sweet talk any woman into being comfortable enough with him, and charm any police officer into thinking he was just a genuine citizen. It's called a Sociopath. They are so good at conforming to what the public wants, that you would never see the bad coming until it was too late and you fell victim to it. You can't be upset with yourself not knowing, you aren't the only one in history."

Riley let out an annoyed sigh before she flicked her cigarette out into the back yard and turned to face the young agent. "That's where you are wrong. I am not a _victim_ and I never asked for yours or your friend's help. I can take care of this on my own." Reid sat there studying her for a moment before just shaking his head. "You may not see yourself as a victim. Fine." he took out the photographs of the women who had been murdered and thrust them into her hands. "But these women.. _were_ victims, and if you won't help yourself, you should have the decency of a human being to help them and their families." With that he walked away, leaving Riley annoyed and to her thoughts. She looked down at the smiling faces of the young girls for a moment, before throwing an inner mind tantrum with herself then heading for the back door, into the house. Sometimes she really hated how she could care for others more than herself. It would have been much easier to only worry about herself, grab her things and ditch town. As she came into the room she spotted the three agents talking to each other quietly, but they stopped as soon as she entered. "I _will_ be taking my cat with me" She said in a more bitchy tone than was needed, and glared at the younger agent as she saw a small smile on his lips. She walked right past them, grabbing her kitten and heading out the front door towards their car. Two of the agents just sat there trying to take in what had just happened and looked to Reid. He just let out a soft laugh and shrugged his shoulders. "Play on emotions." before walking out to the car, the two agents following not far behind. Seemed it was a good idea to bring the kid along.


End file.
